'Yarbs' and spring tonics

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Subject: » 'Yarbs1 and Spring Tonics." Approved "by Bureau of Home Economics,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.

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It is almost here. I'm referring to "spring, beautiful spring." The
signs are unmistakable. A few days ago I ran into a group of small boys,
playing marbles. Last week Billy coaxed Uncle Ebenezer to make him a pair of
stilts. Yesterday I found in the wood box, a scrap of paper, with a verse scrib-
bled on it, in Fred's handwriting. When a sensible fellow like Fred begins
to write poetry, I know that spring is just around the corner.

Aunt Julia used to prescribe a tonic for me every year as soon as I began
to loiter on the way home from school, and beg off from doing my daily "chores."
"Spring fever J" Aunt Julia would say. "Viihat that child needs is a good strong
cup of sassafras tea."

I knew I'-d have to take sulphur and molasses, if I didn't drink tea, so I
cheerfully drank tea. As a spring tonic, sassafras tea wasftTt eo bad, although,
with all due respect to Aunt Julia, I doubt whether she knew that its chief
value lay in the water it contained, and in the outdoor exercise required in
gathering the bark.

Y/hat is "spring fever," anyway-' To most of us, spring fever means nothing
but the lazy feeling which comes over us during the first warm days, when we
want to do nothing but relax, and rest in the warm' 'sunshine. But there is an-
other kind of spring fever which demands some attention. Persons who have this
type of spring fever are not simply lazy . They have a sluggish feeling, which
indicates that their bodies are not in good working order.

We eat food to nourish our bodies. The part that does not nourish our
bodies should be thrown off, as waste matter. Fruits and vegetables help rid
the body of waste matter. In the winter time, when fruits and vegetables are ex-
pensive, or hard to obtain, our bodies may not get enough mineral matter and vit-
amins. These act as body regulators. In the summer, when we eat an abundance
of fresh fruits and vegetables, our bodies can store up a surplus of valuable
food materials. This surplus may become depleted in the spring, if the diet has
been limited during the winter.

Very likely your family will not need a spring tonic, if you have been ine
eluding in your daily meals a plenty of such vegetables as carrots, turnips,
c&lery, cabbage, and parsnips, lettuce, good old-fashioned sauerkraut, and canned
vegetables. Oranges, apples, and grapefruit help to ward off spring fever, and

R-HC 3/1/28

if fresh fruits are not obtainable, dried fruits - apricots, prunes, figs,
raisins, and so forth- are very good substitutes. For the season just before
fresh green vegetables are available, I try to include in my meals the foods
I have mentioned, and canned tomatoes - lots of canned tomatoes.

Almost before we realize it, the wild greens will be ready for table use.
Dandelion leaves, dock, wild mustard, lamb's quarter or pigweed, watercress, and
sorrel. Do you know that sorrel is often used as flavoring with mild greens,
and in salads? Then there are the cultivated greens. Every garden should
contain some of these - spinach, Swiss chard, kale, mustard, horseradish, young
turnip tops, and beet tops.

Greens, whether they're wild or cultivated, add variety to the diet, and
stimulate capricious appetites. They furnish building material for children,
help prevent constipation, and supply the vitamins needed for normal health.
There's iron in greens, too, just as there is in expensive tonics, put up in
fancy glass bottles.

Liver is another rich source of iron and vitamins, and is sometimes given
to people suffering from anaemia.

Speaking of iron, why buy spring tonic from the drugstore, when the hens
are working overtime to produce an abundance of eggs, which are far more ef-
fective as a source of iron? Egg yolk heads the list of iron-rich foods. It
is one of the best possible means of supplying the body with this valuable
mineral. Egg yolk contains phosphorus and calcium, too, elements seeded
to build bones, teeth, and other tissues. The white of eggs comes very
near to being pure protein, which is one of the chief substances of our bodies.
Eggs are also rich sources of vitamins, those A B C's of the diet, needed to
promote health and proper development. Taken all in all, the hen beats the
doctor as a mixer of spring tonic. She combines minerals, with other valuable
foods, in a form that the body finds particularly useful.

Every wise homemaker plans to use an abundance of eggs in the spring. Good
economy, as well as good nutrition.

There are so many appetizing ways of using whole eggs, or the yolks and
whites in separate dishes, that the family need never tire of them.

Nothing is better for enriching Hamburg steak than eggs. For Hamburg steak,
whole eggs, or yolks only, may be used, Very lean round of beef, combined with
egg yolks, is probably richer in iron than any meat dish that can be served.

One or two egg yolks, stirred into a milk soup, or sauce for a vegetable,
just before serving, increases food value and improves flavor. For children,
especially, this is a good way to add iron to the diet.

Custards, steamed or baked, soft or stiff, are year-around standbys in most
households. In the spring, however, the Ijornemaker can afford to be more gener-
ous with the eggs. The family will enjoy a pudding, or a soft custard served
with stewed fruit, occasionally, instead of cream.

In these and many other ways, the clever homemaker can put so much iron in

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R-HC 2/1/28

the daily meals that there will "be no need for the patent medicine man's tonic.

There's another year-around tonic I haven't mentioned, and that is cod-liver
oil. It is really a food rich in vitamins. If you have a husband or an uncle
who feels that he must have a tonic which comes in a "bottle, which he can take
from a spoon, give him cod-liver oil.

When the members of my family "begin to grow listless, and lose their ap-
petites, I take special pains that my meals shall include plenty of fresh vege-
tables, canned tomatoes, fresh or dried fruits, and eggs. Such foods as these put
old-fashioned "yarbs" clear out of the running as spring tonics.

No more today, about spring tonics. Here's a Sunday dinner suggestion,
planned by the Menu Specialist. I'm expecting company for dinner Sunday, and this
sounds good to me: Meat Loaf; Wilted Dandelion Greens; Scalloped Potatoes; and
Feach Shortcake; with Canned or Dried Feaches.

The recipes for Meat Loaf, Wilted Dandelion C-reens, and Scalloped Potatoes
are in the Radio Cookbook, Dy the way, a friend of mine who has a copy of the
radio cookbook tells me he considers it the best in the world. Tb&t's pretty
strong, even for auch a famous cookbook as the little green one. I feel safe
in saying it's the best cookbook in the United States and Canada, but modesty
forbids my saying it's the best in the world.

As I remarked before, the recipes for Meat Loaf, Wilted Dandelion Greens, and
Scalloped Potatoes are in the Radio Cookbook. I'll broadcast the recipes for
Meat Loaf and 'Jilted Dandelion Greens. Nine ingredients, for Meat Loaf:

(Repeat ingredients)

Mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Shape the mixture into a loaf, place
a strip or two of salt pork or small pieces of suet on top and place in a heavy
baking pan, Bake for l-l/4 to l-l/2 hours. The oven should be hot at first,
reducing the temperature toward the end. If sauce or gravy is used as a binder
for the loaf, make it with 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons butter or other
fat to 1 cup of liquid.

Four ingredients for Wilted Dandelion Greens:

(Repeat ingredients.)

Wash the greens thoroughly. Cut finely with scissors, place the greens in
a skillet and add the bacon fat, vinegar and salt. Cover until the greens are
wilted and then serve at once.

To repeat the menu: Meat Loaf; Wilted Dandelion Greens; Scalloped Potatoes;
and Feach Shortcake, with Canned or Dried Peaches.

2 pounds ground beef
l/2 pound ground pork
1 onion, grated

1 cup thick cream sauce or gravy

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1 to 2 cups canned tomato.

or 2 eggs

Salt
Pepper
Celery tops

2 quarts dandelion greens
4 tablespoons bacon fat

l/4 cup mild vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

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